10/14
The following day after breakfast with Nicole , we loaded up with fresh water, we headed out on a 25 mile crossing to Santa Cruz Island, arriving at Fry’s Harbour around .. We spent a little bit of time sorting out our stern anchor ( being used for the first time) and ended up just a little too close to the boat in the harbour. Not that we were putting anyone in any danger, but we probably encroached on his solitude a little more than he would have liked. Fry’s Harbour offered good protected and afforded the first swim in the (relative to San Francisco Bay) warm waters of Santa Cruz island. At night a balmy breeze blew from the shore and Bob took the opportunity to sleep in the cockpit.

10/15
We left Fry’s around 9:30am with the thought of stopping in Lady’s Harbour, but the wind and swell outside of the anchorage was surprising given the tranquility of the harbour, so we turned the day into one of sailing, and a super one at that, beating upwind past West Point, on a reach to Fraser Point and then heading downwind along the far side of the island to the Willows anchorage.

Robert on the helm near West Point

10/16
Willows was gorgeous, was somewhat rocky with occasional sets of southerly waves coming through in the night to keep us awake and after an incredible sunrise the next day we started out on the trip to Catalina, but once we were underway a little further around the coast, the seas were very calm and we were tempted back into the shore by the presence of another sailboat in an anchorage a further down the coast from Willows called Coches Prietos. This is a beautiful little bay, with a long curved beach and an easy dinghy landing. Having anchored a respectful distance from our neighbors, we invited them over for lunch.
In the afternoon we took the dinghy ashore and hiked up a narrow trail along the cliff edge and up to a nearby peak. It was warm and the trail was steep in places, but the view at the top was fantastic, with views to Santa Barbara Island and as far as Catalina Island.

10/17
We were woken early by increased swell coming into anchorage from the SW. We were absolutely confident that our anchoring would hold in such conditions, but we couldn’t be sure that that would be true of our neighbor. We chose to do the prudent thing and leave early – anyway it is about a 70nm trek to Catalina from Coches Prietos and the early start would help us get there in daylight. The crossing was uneventful, but we were denied seeing the sunrise as we entered a fog bank at dawn. There were a couple of fog banks we passed through that morning, but then the skies cleared and the only entertainment was listening to the US Navy clear boats from the nearby target practice areas.

Sunrise at Willows

Robert at Coches Prietos

Aphrodite at Coches Prietos

Hiking at Coches Prietos

View to Santa Barbara and Catalina Islands